


Please Believe Me, Please Help Me

by To_Shiki



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Domestic Violence, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pacific Rim Kink Meme, TW: Domestic Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-16
Updated: 2014-02-01
Packaged: 2017-12-23 17:17:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/929080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/To_Shiki/pseuds/To_Shiki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From the kink meme:<br/>One day, Tendo comes in with a black eye. He waves off everyone's concern and makes up a fairly mundane excuse for it. The week after, he comes in with a split lip. Then the week after that he's got a slight limp. There are a good handful of people worried, but none more so than Herc. After getting no where with questioning Tendo himself, he decides to do a little bit of digging and finds out that Tendo is in an abusive relationship.</p><p>Why Tendo's still with his violent partner, what happens when it's all out in the open (well, between Tendo and Herc at least), and how Herc deals with it is completely up to you. Would love it to eventually lead to Tendo/Herc, but would be just as happy with some pre-slash or gen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Diving Fish

**Author's Note:**

> There is a child in this who does not, I repeat, does not get harmed in any way. Tendo makes sure she never really knows what's going on.

Acting Marshal Hercules Hansen was one of the people unfortunately awake at ass o’clock in the morning due to another surge in the previously closed breach.  Actual Marshal Stacker Pentecost was away on a mix of business and renewed treatment for radiation poisoning.  Which means that all the joys of paperwork and being a babysitter to a bunch of ~~children~~ overactive Rangers, their Jaegers, and crews fell on his shoulders. The only ones _not_ giving him a headache would be the workers responsible for the wellbeing of the Hong Kong Shatterdome. 

This morning’s surge had brought up another piece of Gipsy Danger – the tattered remains of the left hand (how the fuck did that survive the explosion?!) and the torso of one of the precursors.  Needless to say Dr. Geiszler was ecstatic when he was also woken up so early to such news.  Dr. Gottlieb was the exact opposite and went back to bed after Newt left their room.

“Knock, knock, sir.”

Herc jerked his head up from the newest bit of information Newt had already complied.  In the doorway was a perfectly dressed and combed Tendo.  When the stand in Marshal caught sight of what was in his hands he decided _now_ was a very good stopping point.

“Good God, you look amazing.”  He quickly waved the chief tech officer inside.

Tendo carefully set the tray full of scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, and coffee on to of Herc’s paperwork with as much of a dramatic flair as possible.  “Why thank you, sir!  Andy picked it out for me.”  He rested his hip against the desk as the older man grabbed the coffee first, raising the cup to his mouth and just inhaling the fragrance of a perfectly brewed cup.  “Also, using _these_ ,” he dug the thin wire framed reading glasses out from under a pile, “will make things not only go faster but also ease that headache of yours I can see taking hold.”

“I was talking to the coffee as amazing and those make me look like an old man.”  Hansen grudgingly put down his mug and took the glasses and put them on with a frown.  “See what I mean?”  He frowned up at him, trying for a stern librarian appearance.

“Ah, but sir!  Don’t you know older men in glasses are quite the rage now-a-days?”  Tendo leaned in, fluttering his eyelashes like a besotted teenager.

With his glasses on and Tendo’s face so close it was hard to miss the barely freshly scabbed over split lip.  Leaning over a bit he squinted, ‘Is that _makeup_ under his eye?’

“What happened?”  Instantly he became concerned at the sight of the injuries.  And not in a fatherly manner either.  He rested a hand on Tendo’s cheek, thumb just brushing the slightly swollen, foundation covered black eye.

Tendo froze at the pleasantly unexpected touch, breath catching in his throat.  The naked concern in Herc’s voice was more than he had ever hoped for when someone noticed.  ‘Maybe?  Maybe if I tell him he’d believe me?’  A quick mental shake of the head got rid of that idea real quick.  ‘Nah.  Last time I thought someone would they laughed at me.  He wouldn’t laugh, probably, but he wouldn’t believe me anyways.  He’s too manly to think it’s possible.  Just like everyone else.’

“Tendo?”

“It was an accident!” he blurted out.  “I, uh, wasn’t quite awake when the alarms went off.  Walked right into the doorframe on the way out.”  The desire to chuckle nervously was immediately squashed.  Past experience screamed that it made people suspicious and Andy hated that.  And he hated the venting that resulted from that anger.

“This morning?” Herc clarified.  “As in this morning when you came in, brought me coffee and settled into your seat, looking-“

“Am I interrupting something?”

The two froze at the question with Herc’s hand still on Tendo’s face.  For his part Tendo’s eyes widened in surprise (fear?) before whipping his head around to the doorway.

“Nah, _Chen yu luo yan_!  The Marshal here was just- I just got some breakfast on me and didn’t realize it.  He got it off for me since I kept missing it.”  Tendo fidgeted by Herc’s desk nervously before nearly sprinting to the door after being beckoned over.  “Keep those glasses on, old man,” he threw over his shoulder as the couple left.

Herc’s eyes narrowed in displeasure.  That grip around Tendo’s bicep looked a little too tight.  The jerk on it to pull him out of the office could’ve pulled his arm outta the socket if it was a fraction harder.

‘An accident, huh?’ the marshal pondered the other man’s words as he picked at the now unappetizing meal.  He’d been in the military long enough to know what “accidents” looked like.  During wartime those little accidents liked to crop up even more than usual from all the pressure.  Hell, Chuck’s come home from school claiming he “ran into things” on the playground.  If his teacher hadn’t called earlier that day to inform the single father of the fight his son was involved in he would have believed him.

As his phone rang, probably Dr. Gottlieb to complain about Newt again (‘9:04a.m. already?  Shit, I’ve been awake too long already.’), he resolved to look into all this.  If it really was what he thought, if Tendo really was in an abusive relationship, then he needed to get him out of it yesterday.  ‘And preferably into a better one with me,’ his mind whispered.

~*~

Raleigh was his second choice for information.  The young pilot had been friends with Tendo for nearly a decade.  Even kept in touch now and again during his five year absence.

“Becket!  Walk with me.”

The young man pulled away from where he, Mako, and their crew were going over plans for the newly rebuilt Gipsy Danger’s updates.  He quickly fell into step with the marshal, wisely keeping his mouth shut until spoken to.

It wasn’t until they were deep into the Shatterdome, the very bowels where the behind the scenes work of laundry and storage and disposal units, when Herc finally spoke.

“I’m going to ask you some questions, Raleigh, and I need you to answer them.  Honestly.”

“Of course, sir.”

Nod.  “So you’ve known Tendo Choi a long time, have you?”

They had to part to let several workers through.  The whole reason why he chose down here to talk was because none of the workers spoke or even understood basic English.

“Yes, sir, I have.”

“Good, good.  What can you tell me about his relationship with Andy?”

Raleigh stumbled, catching himself against the metal wall.  ‘Of all the things the marshal could want to talk about it had to be this.’  When Herc half turned and raised an eyebrow he straightened and continued walking.  “I know that Yancy and I tried to talk him out of it.  That we warned him it could ruin him.  He would always joke about it though – say it was no big deal and he could handle it.  He’d joke about dating someone else because of claiming he was feeling neglected.

When he came to visit me in the hospital after… after Knifehead even with all the painkillers I was on I could see where he’d been beaten.  I tried to ask him about it; the bruises around his wrists, the black eye, and how he couldn’t look directly at me.

Instead he’d shown me the pictures he had in his wallet of Leigha, their little girl they’d just adopted.  By the time I was out and packing he was back to normal.  Ish.  I mean he was still kinda twitchy.”

“Hmm.  Adopted because they couldn’t have kids of their own, correct?”

“Yeah.  That’s what he’d told me.”

“Did he,” he paused, took a deep breath, “did he tell you it was because he’d had a vasectomy done a year prior to the adoption?”

This time when Becket stopped the marshal merely turned around to face him, face blank to not give away any personal thoughts on the matter.  “E-Excuse me?”  A ‘sir’ was hastily tacked on.

“I checked his medical files to see if there were any mentions of abuse reported in the past by others or himself.  Notices that he’d had the operation done.  Which would explain why he couldn’t donate for a kid.  Called the doctor about it.  Told me he couldn’t think of a reason why such a healthy young man would want to have the operation done but Tendo seemed very persistent about it.”  He glared at the younger pilot suddenly.  “I know you can’t keep this hidden from Miss Mori because of the drift but tell no one else, not even Tendo, that you have this information.  If he is indeed in an abusive relationship I don’t want to make matters worse for him before we can get him out of it.”

“Yes, sir.  Of course.  And if I get any evidence on my own?”  The gears were already turning in his head as he asked.

Herc couldn’t help the sigh.  “It will depend on the evidence.  Too weak or insubstantial and i-we can’t get him out if he denies it.  From what I’ve found if the victim denies it it’s game over and the abuse gets worse.  Strong enough evidence and we can pull him and his little girl out no matter what he says.”

“I’ll do what I can to help, sir.”  As he walked away he couldn’t help adding, “Oh, and Mako and I both have seen the way you look at him.  We honestly think you’d be a better match for him.  I know Yancy would approve, too.”

~*~

Two days later Mako quietly informs him that the only times she see Tendo is when he’s on his way to his station and when he’s on his way home.  She never sees him in the mess hall, recreation center, or anywhere else in the Shatterdome unless he’s with his family.  All her notes pointed to him not eating unless he was with them.

Sasha approaches him a day later telling him about a rare occasion when Choi was in the Jaeger bay overlooking a shipment when Aleksis came up to him and raised a hand in greeting.  Tendo had flinched so violently that he’d dropped his clipboard.

Taking all previously gathered information Herc called the Wei Tang brothers into his office.  After having them sit, and reassuring them he knew nothing about the red dye or how it ended up in Chuck’s laundry, he asked them to tell him a story.  He’d looked up the endearment Tendo had used earlier in the week.

But he was hoping the internet was lying.

They informed him quite earnestly it wasn’t.  And from what they’d been able to see of the couple’s interactions the ending would be the same.  Tendo had become the fish.

Herc, along with the rest of the LOCCENT crew, noticed how much quieter their chief technician had become since the last surge.  He would speak when spoken to but otherwise not voluntarily engage in conversation.  Even with Herc himself.  On the mornings he’d bring him breakfast he refused to look him in the eye for longer than a second or two.  Any topic relating to his personal life was quickly deflected.

Unless it was about Leigha.  That was the only time anyone saw a hint of light in the man’s eyes.  His shoulders would lift, his back straighten out of its very visible hunch, the smile wrinkles at the corner of his eyes reappeared.

It wasn’t until two weeks after Herc first became suspicious that he was ready to act.  Enough evidence had been gathered that all they needed was Tendo’s word.  And the way Herc, _Marshal_ Hercules Hansen, saw it that was only a formality.

Today was apparently the day.

Gipsy Danger had finally come off the assembly line and was ready to welcome back her pilots.  Becket and Mori were already in the Conn-Pod strapped in and ready to shake hands.  Herc had set up a small camera, high resolution and excellent sound quality, just to the side of Tendo’s main console.  Another was placed in the corner getting an amazing view of the workstation from above.

 Now all they needed was the man himself.

Twenty minutes after they were to start, and right when the worried marshal was about to go looking for him, he appeared.

“Sorry, sir,” he gasped, limping his way to his chair.  “Was a little tied up and lost track of time.”  He settled into the rolling chair never noticing the newest addition to his work space.  With his eyes on the monitors he also failed to notice the worried glances from him co-workers and the analyzing one from Herc.

His hands were shaking.  Nothing too debilitating, fine tremors just noticeable.  Whether it was anxiety from being late or lack of sleep, it was hard to tell (the dark circles under his eyes pointed to the latter).   He’d forgotten to put on his watch, the rosary trying to hide the thin rope burns on his wrist.  He was favoring his left arm like he’d almost dislocated it.  Still gasping for breath, only slightly quieter now, even after sitting for a good five minutes.  The shallowness of the movement screamed bruised or broken ribs.

As soon as the neural handshake was holding Tendo rubbed a (still shaking) hand over his face, careful to avoid the left cheek where if the light hit it just right the welt was noticeable.  While the two pilots were familiarizing themselves with the new Conn-pod Herc made his move.

“You alright there, Choi?”  He made sure to keep his voice friendly and low enough not to draw anyone’s attention to the conversation.  When he didn’t get an answer from the distracted man he gently rested his hand on his shoulder to get his attention.

Tendo nearly fell right out of his seat as soon as the older man touched him.  The sudden stop had him hunching over trying to catch his breath.    His left hand rested gingerly against his ribs on the right side.  With a pointed look to the crew members watching Herc knelt down so he was eye level with Tendo.  Everyone else wisely averted their eyes elsewhere.

“Hey?”  Herc made sure to rest his hand on the arm rest of the chair, subtly nudging the chair so the camera could also get a good look at Tendo’s face.  “You alright there, mate?”

“Ye-yeah.  Just… fine.”  The last word coming out in a breathy whine didn’t help his case.

“Well,” and here Herc braced himself, “if you’re not, that’s fine.  I can have one of your minions here take over so you can go home and rest.”

If he thought he could withstand the younger man’s reaction he was sorely mistaken.

Mouth gaping like a fish out of water.  Nostrils flaring, breath wheezing in and out.   Face losing color too rapidly to be healthy.  Eyes wide and full of utter terror at the thought of going home.  His right hand, full out shaking now, reached out and grabbed Herc’s wrist tight enough to turn his knuckles white.  First time since joining the PPDC that he’s willingly touched the other man.

“please don’t make me go home.”  His voice was barely above a whisper.  “i.. i _can’t_ …”

“Tendo.”  Herc placed his free hand over the one holding him.  “Where’s Leigha right now?”

Not even mentioning his daughter’s name could bring a hint of color back to his face.  “she’s with Chuck.  they’re, uh, wre-wrestling in the training room.  i didn’t want her to learn so soon but-but A-Andy wanted her to.”  His gaze dropped down to where their hands were joined.

“Okay.  Tendo.  Tendo, _look at me now_.   You tell me, right now, if you _ever_ want to go home again.”

“i… i have to!  Leigha.  i can’t just leave her-“

“You not going home includes her, too.  Answer the question, babe.”

Everyone in LOCCENT held their breath awaiting the answer.  Through Herc’s search for the truth every single member of the Shatterdome that interacted with Tendo knew what was going on.  It was testament to their devotion to the man that they were able to keep their collective mouths shut around him and his family.

“…i… no.  no, i don’t want us to go home anymore,” he curled up as much as his ribs would allow as he practically sobbed out his answer.

Someone finally believed him.

“Alright, then.  Come on.  Up you get.”  Herc gently eased Tendo onto his feet and lead him out of the room.  He nodded shortly to the minion sliding into place and assisting Gipsy Danger in disengaging the handshake.  “Let’s get you home!  Hey!”  He paused to readjust his grip on the struggling man.  “Hey!  You won’t be alone.  I’ll be right there with you packing up your shit.  Don’t you worry about that.”

Tendo nodded his agreement.  He sagged against the older man as they entered the lift and rode it to his floor.  The heat of being pressed against his side helped ease the ache in his ribs.  Or maybe he just thought they did because...

_‘Someone finally believes me.’_

They exited the lift and slowly made their way to the Choi’s abode.  He didn’t limp as bad with Herc helping him, “It’s only a light sprain, I promise.”

“It’d better be.  Anyone home?”

“No.  Should be clear for a coupla hours, at least.”  Once inside Tendo hesitated.  “I’ll…  I’ll get the bedroom if you wouldn’t mind grabbing some of Leigha’s stuff?”

Knowing exactly _why_ Tendo didn’t want him in the bedroom he asked, “There things of Andy’s you don’t want me seeing?”  At the ashamed expression he pulled his cell phone out of his back pocket.  “You okay taking pictures of it?  To use when we take this to court?”

Tendo tentatively took the phone.  “Do we haf-have to?”

“Yes.”  Herc gently nudged him in the direction of the bedroom.  “You sure you don’t wanna switch?”

A quick nod and the younger man disappeared into the bedroom.

After twenty minutes and three short breaks for Tendo to catch his breath, most of the things they could carry were packed up.  Placing a call to Mako ensured that she, Chuck and Raleigh were on their way with Leigha to help carry things to an empty room for now.  As Mako had informed him on the phone the little girl was having a good time riding on the rolling cart they were going to use.  A knock on the door had him throwing the cell to Tendo so he could answer.

“Sorry to disturb you, sir,” a young worker stood at the open doorway, work cap in hand as he addressed the marshal.  “You’re being summoned to the Jaeger bay by the Kaidanovsky’s.”

“Did they say why?”

“No, sir.  Just that it was extremely important.”

“Alright.  Thank you.”  Herc rubbed a hand over his face as he fought back the growl at being interrupted.  “I’ll be right back, Tendo.  Gotta go check up on the Russians.  No, you keep that,” he ordered when Tendo went to hand it back.  “I’ll be back before I start to miss it.”

Tendo stood in the doorway watching Herc walk to the lift.  When the older man entered he turned around and winked at him as the doors closed.

~*~

Two floors down and the doors opened.  Herc closed his eyes and groaned at the delay.  Opening them had his breath catching in his throat.

“You?”

~*~

Everything of importance was piled at the door ready to be rolled away.  Leigha had just called saying they were less than five minutes away according to Unka Chuck.  As he was about to hit the end button the living room became a little darker as someone stood in the way of the light coming in through the front door.

“Hello, dear.  What’s all this, then?”

“Oh… shit.”

~*~

Little Leigha pulled the phone away from her ear with a puzzled look.

“What’s up, darling?”

She looked up to her Unka Rah-lay as he took the phone from her, hitting cancel on the screen.

“Daddy said a bad word.  He never says bad words when I can hear ‘cuz he gets punished for it.”

The three adults exchanged a quick worried look.  Punished for a child could easily mean different things but they each had a sinking fear of what it meant in regards to their friend’s wellbeing.  Chuck tightened his grip on the cart’s handle.

“Raleigh.  Go call the lift now.”

Without a protest he sprinted down the hallway and slammed his palm against the button as the other two followed, Chuck picking up Leigha and abandoning the cart.

“Should we…?” Mako gestured towards the six year old in his arms.

They were already in the lift before he answered.  “Maybe?   I dunno.  We’ll see.”

~*~

Aleksis and Sasha joined Herc in the elevator.

“Us?” she prompted.

With slowly dawning horror Herc clarified, “Didn’t you two just send someone to get me?  About something going on in the ‘bay?”

The couple glanced at each other in confusion.  “Nyet.  We have been in mess hall for past hour.”  The lift proceeded on its way down once more.

“Oh, God.”  Herc lunged over to the controls, pushing the big Russian man out of his way.  “Fuck!  How do-  Do either of you know how to make this go back up now?”  Apprehension tinged his voice a shade from sounding hysterical.  “Tendo-“

As soon as the tech’s name left his lips he was pushed out of the way.  Aleksis pushed and held the lit button for the Jaeger bay floor until the light went out.  Hitting the residential floor button had the lift grinding to a stop before shifting gears and heading back up.

“You need our assistance?” Sasha graciously offered, knuckles already being cracked in anticipation.

“Yes.”  Herc’s heel tapped impatiently against the plated floor.  It was taking much too long to go back up four floors.

“Then it is yours.”

~*~

“H-Hey!  I, uh, I didn’t expect you home so soon, babe.”

Tendo risked a quick look down to the phone still in his hand.  The display had gone black, the connection broken.  If he could just-

Before he could even swipe his thumb across the screen an inhuman roar echoed off the walls as he was tackled to the ground.  Blunt nails scratched deeply at his unprotected arms braced over his face to avoid losing an eye.

“You little shit!  You thought you could leave me or something?”  The weight lifted off him.  A steel-toed boot reacquainted itself with the ribs it’d met earlier in the day.  “You leavin’ me?  Why?  You think someone could love ya more than me?  Huh?  Who is it?  Who?”

Curled up, arms holding his ribs, he couldn’t pull in enough air to answer.  Terror had him in its grip making him too weak to move.  Habit had him lying there dejectedly awaiting the next blow.

The sound of breaking glass was new.  Tears in his eyes made the room blurry enough so he missed the malicious intent in grey eyes as Andy once again settled on top of him.  Calloused hands gripped his wrists tight, yanking them away from his middle.  A knee to pin each hand to his sides.  Hands free once more the shard of glass hovered right over Tendo’s eye.

“After tonight no one’s gonna wanna look at you again.  But don’t worry, love.”  The jagged edge lightly wandered down his cheek just below the eye.  Blood leaked out of the thin cut and trickled down to his ear.  “Don’t worry.  I’ll still take you back.  You deserve nothing better.”

The glass made a startling slice on his throat, deeper than on his face.

‘where’s herc?  where’s herc?where’shercwhereishehesaidhe’dbehere’

Another cut on his chin.  Bruised ribs preventing him from twisting out from under.

‘hercherchercher-’

“I’m going to take my sweet time with you.  Your precious marshal fell for one of the oldest tricks in the book.  Don’t look at me like that!  I know what I saw in his office!  It’ll take him a good while to get back, that’s for sure!”

Slice here, deep gouge on the arm when he finally wiggled it free and save the intended target:  his left eye.  Deep breath, push through the pain.  Someone will hear!

**_“HERC!”_ **

~*~

**_“HERC!”_ **

The three oldest pilots could hear Tendo’s scream through the doors of the lift.  The raw desperation in the man’s voice seized Herc’s heart.  All three lurched forward, physically forcing the doors to open faster.  As soon as it was wide enough to fit through they sprinted down the hallway.

Sasha was the first to reach the threshold.  Both hands braced on the frame a split second, assessing the situation, before being used to launch him into the room and tackle Tendo’s assailant to the ground.  A final cut was made on Tendo’s arm at the surprise attack.  Aleksis was right behind assisting her husband in restraining the struggling woman.

Tendo, for his part, laid there dazed.  One second Andy was screaming at him and the next she was gone, an olive green and bleach blond blur knocking her to the ground.  His wife’s deranged visage was quickly replaced with Herc’s, distress written all over his face.  Warm hands cupped his face, turning it this way and that, checking for damage.  His vision narrowed down to Herc’s eyes and hands on him.  Not even the struggles of the two Russians detaining his wife broke through the fog surrounding the man above him.

It didn’t take long for the marshal to notice the blood, rapid breathing, and lack of coordinated movement from the man below him.  What did take him a couple precious seconds to realize was that Tendo was mouthing his name over and over, vocal chords producing no sound.

“Shh, shh!  I’ve got you.  It’s alright.  I’m back.  I shouldn’t have left you.  I’m so sorry, darlin’” Herc cooed softly as he gathered Tendo in his arms.  The fact that the other man made no move to stop him, or voluntarily move at all, worried him.  That it felt like he weighed less than Mako worried him as well.  He turned to face Aleksis and Sasha, making sure to nudge Tendo’s face towards his shoulder so he couldn’t see her.

The two finally had the woman subdued enough to get her on her feet, each of them with a secure grip on her arms.  Andy, no, she deserved no nickname now.  _Andrea_ looked a little worse for wear – a fast forming black eye, bloody nose, clothes rumpled, fingers on her left hand bent at wrong angles.  The wedding ring on that hand was suspiciously missing now.

“You take him.  She will not be a problem,” Aleksis assured him.

He gave a curt nod.  “You make sure she gets no more damage, you hear me?  She is to pay for this-“

“Da, da, we know.  We shall take her down to the holding cells now.  You get your _golubchik_ taken care of.”

He was out the door and halfway to the lift before she could finish her sentence.

This was right when the three younger pilots exited the lift at the other end of the hallway with Leigha.  Chuck took one look at his dad, Tendo in his arms bleeding freely onto the floor, and swiftly spun around and headed back to the lift.

“You know what, sweetie?  I think we should go back down to the training room!”

“What?  Why?”  She tried to lift herself high enough to look over his shoulder at the commotion coming from home.  The adults were keeping something from her.  Not cool, like Unka Rah-lay liked to say.

“Because I want to show you some new moves,” Mako explained as she furtively gestured for Raleigh to go help Herc.  She and Chuck entered the lift, making sure she couldn’t see her mother being dragged out of the apartment with a dishtowel shoved in her mouth as a gag.

Raleigh reached the two right before the lift doors closed on him.  He pulled out his and after a bit of searching Herc’s handkerchiefs.  As the lift descended he wrapped them around the deeper cuts on his friend’s arms.  The speed at which they became soaked had him looking up at Herc in worry.

“Just keep pressure on it, kid,” he ordered quietly.

Tendo had yet to say anything.  With his face pressed to Herc’s shoulder it was easy to feel his mouth still moving.  There was no doubt in Herc’s mind it was still his name falling from those lips.

Raleigh tugged lightly on his wrist, altering him to the fact that they’d reached the floor where medical was located.  The youngest made sure to keep both hands on the wounds as they approached the nearest doctor.


	2. Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the attack and plans are made.

Five hours later had Tendo tucked into a private room, thin mattress angled up just enough so he wasn’t lying flat.  A nurse had pulled a thick quilt out of the cabinet and gently tucked it over the flimsy hospital blanket.  The doctors knocked him out with painkillers so he could catch up on missed sleep.  IVs assisted in rehydrating and provided him with much needed nutrients.

Three bruised ribs.  Multiple lacerations, one on the right arm and three on the left required stiches, the rest shallow enough to need butterfly bandages.  Sprained right ankle.  Bruised cheekbone.  Small goose egg on the back of the head from hitting the ground.

Half an hour ago, shortly after he’d been settled into his room with Herc by his side, the Kaidanovsky’s had made an appearance.  They brought news of Andrea being secure in the cell, none the worse for wear. 

Mostly.

Herc couldn’t bring himself to care about the gleeful sneer on their faces when they announced that bit.  “So long as it’s obvious that those marks came from the two of you and not Tendo, that’s all that matters.”  He dismissed them with a grateful smile.

Aleksis wouldn’t leave before placing a light kiss on the sleeping man’s forehead.  “You will be alright,” she stated, making sure to look directly at the marshal as well.

Chuck came in an hour later.  In his hands was a change of clothes for his old man who reluctantly took them and slipped into the adjacent bathroom.  He changed out of shirt and pants stained with drying blood as fast as possible.  When he emerged he glowered at the sight of Chuck in his seat beside Tendo’s bed.

“Dont’chu worry about your little angel, Elvis.  We got her all ready for a sleep over at Auntie Mako’s.”  Seeing his dad glaring at him only made him smile.  “She’s all excited, of course.  Never had a sleep over before, you know.  But, yeah, her, Auntie Mako, and Auntie Aleksis are going to do each other’s’ hair and nails before movie time.  I think I even overheard them plotting to do mine and Rah-leigh’s.  Sasha, that big traitor, just nodded when Leigha asked him to help hold us in place.  He-“

“Alright, that’s enough outta you, brat.”  Herc playfully manhandled his son out of his seat.  “Get going before they send a search party.”

The younger Hansen was halfway out of the room when he remembered his orders from Mako.  He pulled Herc’s recovered cell phone out of his pocket and tossed it to him.  “Catch!  You are to text us if anything changes.  Orders from Miss Mori herself.”

His dad caught it with practiced ease.  “Will do.”

~*~

Around midnight he was pulled out of a light doze by a hand on his shoulder.  Above him stood Stacker, looking healthier than he had in years if a little sleep deprived. 

“Stopped by to see the kids,” he explained, “found them all asleep with some Disney movie looping.   Something with a small multi-limbed blue alien.  Anyways.  When I saw Choi’s little girl with them figured something’d happened.  The Russians guarding the door had no problem filling me in on today’s activities.”

“Yeah, it’s been a hell of a time while you were gone, Stacks.”

“We going to do this the official way or should I look the other way?”  The tone in Pentecost’s voice hinted strongly towards the latter option.

A sharp laugh escaped the weary Ranger.  He quickly quieted down when the sudden noise had Tendo shifting uneasily in his sleep.  “Much appreciated, sir.  But I think it would be best - for Tendo - for this to go through official channels.  Everything needed ’s on your desk with signed statements from the other pilots and LOCCENT workers willing to take his side.  Even have a recording of him saying he doesn’t want to go back to her.  There’s no way she’ll get away with this.”

“Excellent.”  Stacker patted his shoulder before moving to the door.  “I’m going to call one of the nurses to bring you a cot to sleep on.  No, don’t even think of protesting, Hansen.  You and I both know you’re nowhere near as young as you used to be.  If you wanna be able to keep up with everything once the shit starts hitting the fan you need to get some proper rest.  I’ll be right back.”

~*~

The main doctor overlooking Tendo’s care woke Herc a little after seven in the morning.  “My apologies in waking you, sir.  I figured you’d want to be up when Mr. Choi comes around.”

Hearing that Tendo would be awake soon cleared away the rest of the cobwebs.  He rolled off the cot, cursing and thanking the returned marshal for getting it.  “Yeah, thanks, doc.”  A quick trip to the bathroom to freshen up and he was back in his seat next to the downed techie. 

“The original dose of painkillers we gave him have worn off.  I’m giving him a lower dose now,” the doctor put words to action as he injects something into the port in the IV.  “He’ll come out of it soon.  May still be a little groggy, but that’s to be expected.  Just be patient with him.”

Tendo for his part wakes up and falls back asleep several times before Herc can get a cohesive conversation going.  Hardcore painkillers make him a little loopy like that.  There was talk of baby Jaegers and their pilots were the parents raising them up to be big strong mechas.  Next time he had been informed that all the Kaijus had shrunk and followed Newt everywhere like little ducklings.  At one point the downed techie had managed to get a hand up and clumsily stroked Herc’s beard, complaining that Max’s fur was softer.

With each awakening Herc made sure to just go along with the new information Tendo shared.  When he first questioned the baby Jaeger story it got Tendo to start fidgeting.  The fidgeting included picking at the bandages on his arms.  So the relieved marshal calmly and sincerily apologized and held his hand to prevent anymore picking when he woke and told him the things floating around in his brain.

Forty-five minutes and six stories later he was finally lucid enough for Herc to give more responses than “Uh huh” and “Really?  That’s cool.”

“Could you… Could you do something for me?”

“Name it.”  Herc’s thumb rubbed soothingly across the back of the recaptured hand.

Tendo shifted a little as he tried to relieve stiff muscles.  “My clothes…”

“Uh, yeah.  I had noticed you didn’t pack any before I had been pulled away.  You want me to go grab some of them for ya?”

“No!  No, uh, sorry.  Could you, maybe if you’re not too busy, so long as it’s not too much of a hassle for you-“

“Just spit it out already, darlin’.”

“could you please get rid of them?” he asked in a hushed tone.

‘Get rid?’  He scooted his chair closer to the bed.  Maybe the distance and low voice had him mishearing the request.  “Get rid as in… throw them away?”

“toss,” he cleared his throat.  “Toss, donate somewhere outside of the ‘Dome, burn them.  I don’t care.”  His eyes squeezed shut in discomfort.  “Just so long as I don’t see them anymore.”

“’s it alright to ask why?”

“It’s just.  I _don’t_ like dressing like that.  I’m more of tight jeans and baggy sweaters kinda guy.  S-She was the one who liked the bowties and suspenders.  I need you to get rid of Leigha’s dresses and stuff.  All the frilly things.  She’s going through a tomboy phase or some shit.  I don’t know.  Maybe it’s not a phase, whatever.  She just really doesn’t like the girly things her mo- her mom’s been dressing her in.”

“Yeah, I can do that for ya.  For both of ya.  Anything else until you’re up for it?”

“Where’s Leigha?”

“No clue.  I do know she spent the night with the big kids,” he hastily reassured him.  “Lemme check.”  He sent a quick text to Chuck simply saying ‘Leigha?’  “Stacker was in earlier this morning - I think it was morning - to check up on you.”

Butterfly bandages prevented Tendo from properly displaying how he felt about that.  He could already see himself being relieved of his post for being incompetent.  If he can’t even have control over his life how could he be expected to direct the Jaeger pilots?

“Hey now.  What’s that face for?”  Herc reached out and gently rubbed at the frown marring one side of Tendo’s face.  “You think he’s gonna look down on you for this?  That you and your girl’s gonna get kicked outta here or something?”

There was a tiny flinch when Herc’s fingers touched his face.  Rationally he knew, after everything he’s done, that the other man wouldn’t hurt him.  But hands near his face never did end well for him.  “Well, yeah.  Why wouldn’t he?  Obviously not strong enough to stand up for myself against my _wife_ of all people.  How can I be expected to-“

“I would suggest you not finish that sentence, Mr. Choi.”

Both men looked up to where Pentecost stood just inside the room.  A paper bag clasped in this hands held in front of him.  Tendo just stared at his newest visitor in mute apprehension as Herc stood, not even attempting to shake off or hide the death grip Tendo had on his hand, to shake Stacker’s hand in greeting across the bed.

“You, Mr. Choi, have some choices to make.”  The marshal waved his hand, silencing anything Tendo may say.  “Hear me out first.”  He politely ignored the terror in his subordinate’s eyes and the cringe from Herc as Tendo’s grip on his hand tightened.  Paper bag found a resting place at the foot of the bed.  “First of all.”  Two pairs of thick socks appear.  “Blue or crème?”

“Depends on where you got ‘em from, sir.”

“No need to ‘sir’ me now, Tendo.  And they’re from Becket himself.”

The smile at the news almost made it to both sides of his face from delight.  “Well then, how about one of each?  Gotta let him know which one’s better and all that.”  He giggled breathlessly as the marshal uncovered his feet, took one of each sock and put them on his bare feet, a look of disgust on his face at the creepiness that was mismatched socks.  Toes wiggled in pleasure and thanks.

“He knit those himself, did he?” Herc nodded towards Tendo’s feet as Stacker covered them back up with the quilt.  “That boy has the weirdest hobbies, I swear.”

“That he does.  There’s also a pair of sweatpants and shirt in the bag for you when you feel up to it.”

“Thanks, man.”  He bent his knees enough to place his feet flat on the bed, rubbing the soles against the mattress.  Crème felt a little- No.  Blue feels better?  “Leigha?”  Feet rubbed a smidge harder in anticipation.  Crème definitely feeling significantly better.  And warmer.

Herc checked his phone.  A message flashed.  “Yeah.  I don’t know why it didn’t-“  Unlocking it shows it was still on silence.  “Oh.  Uh, Chuck’s got her right now.  She’s helping him take Max for a walk around the ‘Dome.”

“Okay,” he breathed out in relief.  “And…what about…?”  This question he directed more towards Stacker still at the foot of his bed.

“That would be another choice for you to make.”  He grabbed the stool sitting off to the side and sat down on the other side of the bed.  At eye level with Tendo it made him less of an authority figure and more of his old friend.  “Herc suggested last night that we take this along the official route: court, jury, sentence.  I have no problem with this.  There’s quite the pile of evidence sitting on my desk that would put her away without parole.  Right now we’re looking at a minimum jail time of 10 years and a solid restraining order declaring her unable to be in the same county, or in the case of location now, providence.  You and Leigha will have little to worry about once she’s released.”

“What’s the other choice?”  He clearly knew the answer.  Hearing it was necessary. 

“The other choice is all the cameras in the holding cells mysteriously suffer from a malfunction at the same time that Andr- that the only prisoner down there dies.  Sadly, I’ll have no clue who dun ‘it.”  The tone was light, belaying the seriousness on his face.  “Of course I’ll look in to it:  make the usual inquiries, check alibies, and all that.  You’ll be the first suspected, of course, but because of your injuries there’s no way court will believe you to be the perpetrator.  Though with the breach surging like it is it’ll have to sit on the back burner for a while.”

“And how,” Tendo licks his lips nervously.  “And how, do you think, it happens?”  His free hand goes to scratch at his neck.  It’s quickly but gently pulled back down by Stacker, carefully holding it yet not full out restraining.

“From what it looks like someone with a grudge, some real nasty hate towards her, snuck into her cell and beat her to death.”

“You wouldn’t!”  He looks back and forth to the men on either side of him.  The expressions on their faces plainly showed that they would have no problem with this choice.

“I’m pretty sure there’s a line forming outside the area now,” Herc informed him.  “Jaeger pilots, your minions from LOCCENT, and even a shit ton of the regular workers here.”

The steady beeping of the heart monitor he was attached to increase in tempo.  “But…  _Why?_ ”

The rangers shared a bemused smile over his head.  “You really have no clue why people would stand up for you, Choi?”  Stacker shook his head in equal parts bewildered and displeasure.  “Who’s there to walk us through the neural handshake?  Who’s there to yell at us when something happens outside of our range of vision?  Who’s there in LOCCENT guiding all the minions in improving their skills while working under you?”

“You’re a major part of everyone’s lives here, Tendo.  I know that recently she’d been reducing the amount of time you spent with others, but everyone remembers you being there to help out when needed,” Herc added his bit when Stacker paused.

“Oh.”  The monitor’s beeping slowed back down as Tendo slowly absorbed the new information.

Herc squeezed his hand to get his attention.  “People here do care about you, Tendo.  Just like you care about them.”

“You have plenty of time to think it over, Tendo.  There’s no rush,” Stacker assured him.  “The main thing for you right now is to heal.  I spoke with your doctor before coming in.  Well, more he stopped me thinking I was smuggling unhealthy food in.  Told him it was all clothes.”

“Then why do I smell… is that popcorn?”

A medium sized mixing bowl was pulled out of the bag, plastic wrap half off letting the aroma of warm popcorn fill the room.  “It is indeed.  With a sprinkling of sugar and butter.”

Both men let go of Tendo’s hands so he could hold the bowl and eat.  “So what did my doc say?”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.”  Herc, ever the dad.

“They want to keep you another night – make sure you’re fully hydrated, antibiotics working.  You’ll need a wheelchair to stay off that sprained ankle.  No crutches because of your ribs.  It’ll be fine in less than a week.  The ribs, however, will take at least 2 weeks to heal.  So light duty for you.”

Tendo shoved another handful of popcorn in his mouth as he digested the information.  Swallowing a bit nervously he asked, “Light duty?  So I can still work?”

“Once the doctor clears you, yes.”

“Is there…  Is there anywhere Leigha and I can move to?  I don’t want her going in there.”

Cue Herc clearing his throat.  “Well.  I had thought yesterday that you two could stay at my place.  Ya know, thought you might feel safer there and all.”

“Are you sure?”  Heart monitor speeds up just a little.  Stacker’s smiling like he’s won the lottery (he might have, there’s betting pool’s for everything in the Shatterdome after all).  “I mean, she’s six and has a lot of energy.  I don’t want us to be underfoot or anything.  And-“

“Tendo.  It’s fine.”

“Okay.  Okay, we’ll move in.  Just until another apartment opens up.”  He looks over to the marshal to confirm and frowns a little at the smile.  “What?”

“Nothing.  I’ll keep an eye out on a suitable place, don’t worry.  For now, though,” he stands, motioning for Herc to follow.  “We’ll leave you to rest.  The sooner the docs like your stats the sooner you get out.”

The Aussie couldn’t help leaning over the bed a little.  “You know what this means, right?”  Without giving him a chance to guess he stuck a hand into the bowl and grabbed a handful of popcorn.  “What’s yours is mine, roomie.”  He shoved his pilfered treat in his mouth, humming in pleasure as he quickly left the room. 

“Get back here, you little shit!”  Tendo nearly bruised his ribs more from laughing at the overgrown child he’d soon be sharing living quarters with.


	3. Home sweet home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Out of the hospital and sharing space with Herc.

“Hey, man!  Nice wheels!”

“Looking good, Leigha!”

Tendo looked up from where he was stationed (under threat of no access to LOCCENT until 100% healed) in the living room of his temporary abode with the elder Hansen.  He was dressed down in a loose pair of sleep pants and an oversized worn tee shirt generously provided by Herc and the crème socks Raleigh had knitted.  Leigha was beside him, proudly showing off the newest outfit the Kaidanovsky’s bought her. 

_“But I want to help!”_

_“You can help.  By supervising.  We’re bringing in the heavy stuff today.”_

_“But, seriously, you locked my wheels?  Not cool, bro.”_

_“Leigha?  You keep an eye on your daddy, okay?  No letting him get up at all.”_

_“Yes, sir!”_

_“Betrayed by my own daughter.  I weep, baby girl.  I weep.”_

_“Don’t cry, daddy!  I’ll show you the clothes Sa-Sa and ‘Sis got me!”_

_“Well, alright.  Let’s see ‘em!”_

So far she’s shown off a pair of cowboy boots (“ _not_ cowgirl, daddy, those are too sparkly and get dirty too fast!”), overalls, and a blue toned flannel shirt, a couple of nice graphic tees, several pairs of jeans, four knee length skirts (“Look, daddy!  This one swishes!”) with two pairs of tights to match them, and three pairs of shoes – sneakers, sandals, and dress shoes.  She even picked out a pair of dress slacks, a vest to match, and a plain blouse for when she needed to dress nice like her daddy.

While she was changing he offered to repay the couple who were also present for the fashion show.  They waved it off claiming it was all an early birthday present for her.  They left shortly after the younger pilots returned with more of Leigha’s belongings.

“So where would you like this, little lady?” Chuck asked as he and Raleigh carried in her princess bed.  Mako followed behind them with blanket wrapped around pillows, sheets, and stuffed animals thrown over her shoulder.

“In here!”  Leigha started to run towards the spare room/office.  “Wait!”  She turned and ran up to Mako and tugged her over to her dad.  “Auntie Mako, will you please keep an eye on daddy?  He’s not supposed to move from this spot.”

“Of course, meichan.”  She shrugged the bulging blanket off her shoulder and handed it over to the little girl.  “Can you carry it by yourself?”

Tendo sighed, resigned to being useless for the foreseeable future while his daughter dragged her clean bedding across the living room into her new bedroom so she could direct her uncles on where, exactly, to place her bed.  Any maybe get their help in making her bed.  She hadn’t quite mastered that skill yet, since it was mostly Tendo’s responsibility anyways, and now he wasn’t allowed to help her.

Mako pulled over the footstool and sat beside Tendo, making sure to keep her serious face on for whenever Leigha would peek out her room to check on them.  “How are the two of you doing?”

“Definitely better.  Leigha keeps asking about her mom and what happened to me.  I just… I tell her that she did something really bad and has to go away for a while.  I don’t want to necessarily _hide_ what she’s done, but I honestly don’t know how to explain it to a six year old, either.”

“At least she doesn’t blame herself,” she consoled him.  She remembered when she had lost her family.  For the first few months she couldn’t help but believe she could have done something to save her family instead of running away.  “Where is Hercules?”  The question was voiced light, innocent, and completely pulled them both away from morose thoughts.

“He’s, uh, I think catching Stacker up on everything while he was gone.”  Tendo scratched at one of the bandages on his arm.  When he flinched from Mako gently pulling his hand away neither acknowledged it out loud.  Or the slight tremble in his voice afterwards.  “He… said he’d be back in time for us to have lunch together.  Then finish getting everything moved in and arranged.  Right now I wanted to make sure Leigha got all her stuff in first in case she needed to take a nap from all the excitement.”

The pilot nodded her head in approval.  “That sounds like a good idea.  How are you fairing right now?”

He gave her a half-hearted shrug.  “Okay.  Need to take another round of pills soon – painkillers and antibiotics.  Picture frame glass isn’t nearly as clean as it should have been.  Which means I’ll be napping before her.”  They both chuckled at that.  As their laughter died down Tendo’s little girl came running out of her new room, uncles trailing behind her.

“Bàba!  Come see my room!”  She grabbed onto the armrest of his wheelchair and jumped up and down in excitement.  When the other three looked like they were going to stop her he waved them off.  Letting her jump around and be all excited would eventually wear her down enough to nap after lunch.  And forget about _why_ they’re moving in the first place for a while.

“Alright, let’s go see it!  Did you thank your uncles and auntie for helping out?”  As soon as Raleigh released the brakes on his chair he tried to maneuver his way to the door.  Becket took control before he could get too far muttering about straining the stitches on his arms.

Leigha nodded with all the enthusiasm a six year old could possess.  “Yes!  But one more.  Because!”  She rushed up to Chuck, hugged him tight around the waist and kissed his cheek once he bent down.  Raleigh and Mako received the same reward before they wheeled her daddy in to bear witness to all their hard work.

Herc’s old office, aka Chuck’s old bedroom, was no longer the organized chaos with paperwork, tattered old training manuals, and spare uniforms thrown about.  The closet was perfectly organized with all previously mentioned items were sorted, boxed, and labeled or shredded.  Boxes were shelved and uniforms cleaned and pressed before being hung up covered in plastic.  The work desk had been pushed up against the wall with the window and covered with a thick plastic tablecloth – the perfect setup for Leigha’s artistic tendencies. 

Her bed went in one corner, the dresser across from it right next to the closet.  All her new clothes were folded nicely and tucked away.  Uncle Chuck had helped her make her bed while Uncle Raleigh kept a close eye on her stuffed animals.  “Princess Buttercup and Mr. Mist-off-olies are scared of touching the floor,” she had informed him quite seriously.  “They think its lava.”

The well-worn car city rug a fellow tech had given them when they had first moved to Hong Kong took up most of the middle of the room.  Her dollies, toy cars, and ponies in the tub beside it awaited her.

At the foot of her bed was a tiny vanity table and mirror complete with a padded stool and kid’s make-up she had barely touched.  Princess dresses and plastic slip on shoes took up space in the child sized wardrobe beside the vanity.

Tendo whistled impressed at all the work the three pilots had managed to accomplish so far.  “Very nice, guys!  You even got all her decals up.”  All over the walls were her Spider-man, Batman, Storm, and Starfire wall clings at varying heights and positions.  Some were by themselves and others were battling each other.  “Well, whad’ya think, sweetie?  This good enough for you?”

“Yes!  Is it lunchtime now?  I wanna show Herc!”  She grabbed her dad’s hands and swung them around while dancing in place from excitement and hunger.  None of the adults felt the need to point out that she’d dropped the ‘grampa’ bit before his name.  She’d been doing it periodically even before her mother was taken away.

Despite his worry she may be able to handle what’s going on better than he thought.

“Did I hear my name?”

Leigha squealed in joy as Herc sauntered into her room.  The other 3 pilots quickly got out of her way as she ran to the elder Hansen.  As soon as she was in jumping distance she launched up in the air.  He caught her with practiced ease (not the Chuck would ever admit to doing the same when he was a kid and his dad came home from work).  Using her momentum he swung her up into the air and let go.

Everyone watched speechless as she gracefully floated nearly two feet in the air, a good half foot from touching the ceiling.  One, two, three heartbeats (five from daddy Tendo) of weightlessness.  A thrilled gasp and she landed right back into his waiting hands.

“How’s my girl?”

“Again!”

Herc set her against his hip.  “I think not, darling.  Your dad looks like he’ll have a heart attack if we do.”  Her puppy eyes nearly had him caving.

“No I don’t,” Tendo stated in his defense since his friends were too busy looking elsewhere to come to his aid.  He wheeled over to them and inquired about lunch.

Leigha’s disappointment was short lived once Herc announced it was time to eat.  He’d brought home enough to feed a small army.  Mostly for the Jaeger pilots and chief tech officer and their hollow pits they referred to as stomachs.

It was a thankfully lively affair.  Even with Mako nudging Tendo none too gently to take his painkillers and antibiotics.  Leigha chattered on enthusiastically about her new room, and a reminder from dad had her thanking Herc for it with multiple lip gloss kisses and bear hugs, and all the work the three Jaeger pilots had put in to it.  She pointed out her new outfit the Kaidanovsky’s bought her.

When it was finally his turn to talk Tendo reassured the internally worried senior pilot he’d done nothing more strenuous than answer his email on the tablet a minion had brought him and make a few phone calls before moving time.

“And I got to watch a fashion show.”  The smugness in his voice had Herc smiling.  Until he realized this meant he missed out on it.  “Don’t worry though, man.  I’m sure after nap-time Leigha wouldn’t mind doing it again.  Right, baby?”

“Yup!  We can skip nap-time and do it now, Herc.”  She batted her eyes at him like she’d see in movies.

Everyone chuckled at her attempt.  “I don’t think so, sweetie.  Today’s been a pretty exciting day and it’s not even half over.  Gonna need your energy for this afternoon, won’t cha?” Raleigh asked, musing up her hair.  “We gotta play with your toys at least once today to make sure they don’t feel like we’re ignoring them.”

“But I don’t wanna sleep when everybody else’s up having fun!” she whined while batting away another attempt by Uncle Raleigh to mess up her hair more.

“You won’t be the only one it looks like.”  Herc nodded his head to his right where Tendo sat in his wheelchair, head propped up with his hand and eyes at half-mast.  “Looks like yer dad’s going to have to lay down for a nap as well.”

“No idea what you’re talking about,” Tendo yawned.  He made a half-assed effort to appear more awake than he felt.  “I think the doctor gave me the wrong drugs.  Painkillers don’t normally hit me like this.”

“Your body’s still adjusting.  Don’t worry, Tendo.”  Herc wiped his mouth and stood up.  “Come on, darlin’.  Let’s get you horizontal for a while.”  Hands on the handles of the wheelchair he glanced at the kids.  “You got Leigha?”

“We got ‘er, old man.”  Chuck held out his hands for Leigha to climb onto his lap.  “You ready, baby girl?”  She went to him and curled up, stubbornly shaking her head.  A mumbled ‘don’t wanna’ had everyone chuckling.

Mako peered at her from over Chuck’s shoulder.  “But if you nap now, meichan, it’ll be over faster and we can play again.” 

Leigha gave a one-eyed squint at her auntie.  After mulling the logic over she finally nodded her agreement.  Uncle Chuck easily stood up and walked to her new room with Raleigh and Mako trailing behind him.

“He makes for a good big brother,” Tendo remarked as Herc wheeled him away from the table.  “You gonna get me ‘horizontal’ now, ex-marshal?”  The perks of medication meant he could let his tongue run loose and claim he couldn’t remember anything.  Which was the truth, unfortunately for him.

Herc nearly crashing him into the doorframe at throwing his word back at him jolted him slightly more awake.  The older man cleared his throat and apologized for nearly adding to his list of injuries.  “I meant, ah, well.  You know what I meant, Choi,” he answered gruffly. 

Tendo just giggled as the adrenaline of nearly crashing drained away.  The bed in the corner of the room was just within reaching distance.  If he could bend forward enough to just flop onto it.  It was when Herc was assisting him from chair to bed that reality finally caught up with him.

“Wait.  Wait.  This is.”  Herc helped him slowly ease his way down on the bed as he half-protested.

“This is what, darlin’?”  He grabbed the comforter and sheet from the foot of the bed and pulled it up over the pathetically struggling chief LOCCENT officer.

Tendo made a sound of disgust at himself.  “This is… your bed.”

“Where else would you sleep off your meds?  The couch’s too small and so’s our- _your_ daughter’s bed.”  Hansen laid a restraining hand flat on Tendo’s chest when the other man tried to push the covers down. 

Tendo huffed in defeat and settled back down in Herc’s bed.  He made a show of wiggling around to get comfortable until his ribs reminded him that was a very bad idea.  Once he was still Herc teasingly tucked him in like he would for Leigha.  Taking a deep a breath as possible had the tension oozing out of Tendo.

The blankets smelled of old sweat, metal and oil, and bland soap.  A hint of musky cologne along the edge.  Woodsy shampoo and dulled aftershave on the pillowcase.  Faintly scratchy bedding and lumpy mattress and pillow.

Not a single whiff of nauseating artificial floral perfume or berry-scented body wash.  No stiff mattress or unforgiving pillow under his body. 

With the med absorbing their way through his system and dragging him down the overwhelming sensory input of _not home_ of _safe_ and _Herc_ Tendo was out like a light before Herc even steeped away from the bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! "Soon" means months between, apparently ~_~

**Author's Note:**

> Diving fish swooping geese (Chinese)  
> Chen yu luo yan  
> There is a story surrounding the greatest beauty in Chinese history, a woman named Xi Shi. It's said that she was so beautiful that when she looked at fish in a pond, the fish were so dazzled by her beauty that they forgot to swim and gradually dived to the bottom. Likewise, it was said that when geese flew over a woman called Wang Zhaojun, they were so struck by her beauty that they would forget to flap their wings and would end up swooping to the ground. Because of this, to this day, when a young Chinese man is in love with a Chinese woman, he may indicate that, to him, she is as beautiful as Xi Shi or Wang Zhaojun. To do this, he will say just four words: "Diving fish, swooping geese". ~from BBC article on international terms of endearment
> 
> Golubchik – masc form of little dove – Russian


End file.
